Thursday, May 17, 2007 10:26 P.M.
Write-ins could be wave of future
Thousands cast Tuesday in county as doing so is simple on new electronic machines.
JENNIFER LEARN-ANDES jandes@timesleader.com

Luzerne County voters cast thousands of write-in votes on Tuesday – so many that election workers may not get through them all during Friday’s official count, Election Bureau Director Leonard Piazza said Wednesday.

The tabulation will resume on Monday if more time is needed.

The simplicity of casting write-in votes on the new electronic voting machines has likely contributed to the increase, Piazza said.

The write-in option appears on the screen as a choice along with the names of candidates. A keyboard pops up for selections to be spelled, replacing the old system of requiring a name sticker or handwritten response on paper.

More candidates are launching write-in campaigns – some behind-the-scene so potential opponents are caught off guard.

Political insiders believe the trend may prompt future candidates to automatically seek write-in votes on the uncontested opposite ticket, just in case someone else has the same idea.

Two county races – coroner and district attorney – attracted a large number of Republican write-in votes because there were no Republican contenders.

Voters cast 1,261 write-ins in the district attorney’s race.

Democrats Vito DeLuca and Jackie Musto Carroll both sought Republican write-ins, each saying they got the idea because they heard the other was doing it. Both say they don’t know what to expect from Friday’s tally. Musto Carroll received the Democratic nomination.

Even more voters – 1,331 – cast Republican write-in votes in the county coroner’s race. John Corcoran won the Democratic nomination.

Candidates in county races would need at least 250 write-ins to get a nomination and appear on the ballot, Piazza said. If more than one candidate exceeds 250 votes, the highest vote-getter would appear on the November ballot.

But it wasn’t just uncontested nominations targeted through write-in campaigns on Tuesday.

Republican Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta used a last-minute, aggressive write-in campaign to knock out his Democratic opponent in the primary – a technique that was the talk of the county Wednesday.

Barletta said he decided about a week before the election to seek Democratic write-ins. He had conducted a poll and found strong Democratic support.

“I was being approached by Democrats saying, ‘I wish I could vote for you.’ I thought about it. Why can’t they? With the electronic machines, it’s much easier than ever before,â€